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IMDbPro

The Singer Not the Song

  • 19611961
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 2h 12m
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
670
YOUR RATING
The Singer Not the Song (1961)
DramaRomanceWestern
In a small Mexican town, a Catholic priest (Sir John Mills) and a local bandit (Sir Dirk Bogarde) clash, but the brave priest ultimately wins the outlaw's respect.In a small Mexican town, a Catholic priest (Sir John Mills) and a local bandit (Sir Dirk Bogarde) clash, but the brave priest ultimately wins the outlaw's respect.In a small Mexican town, a Catholic priest (Sir John Mills) and a local bandit (Sir Dirk Bogarde) clash, but the brave priest ultimately wins the outlaw's respect.
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
670
YOUR RATING
    • Roy Ward Baker
    • Audrey Erskine-Lindop(novel)
    • Nigel Balchin(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Dirk Bogarde
    • John Mills
    • Mylène Demongeot
    • Roy Ward Baker
    • Audrey Erskine-Lindop(novel)
    • Nigel Balchin(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Dirk Bogarde
    • John Mills
    • Mylène Demongeot
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 27User reviews
    • 8Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos32

    The Singer Not the Song (1961)
    The Singer Not the Song (1961)
    The Singer Not the Song (1961)
    The Singer Not the Song (1961)
    Dirk Bogarde in The Singer Not the Song (1961)
    Mylène Demongeot in The Singer Not the Song (1961)
    Dirk Bogarde, Marie Devereux, and Laurence Payne in The Singer Not the Song (1961)
    Marie Devereux, Lee Montague, and Laurence Naismith in The Singer Not the Song (1961)
    Dirk Bogarde in The Singer Not the Song (1961)
    John Mills and Lee Montague in The Singer Not the Song (1961)
    John Bentley and John Mills in The Singer Not the Song (1961)
    Leslie French and John Mills in The Singer Not the Song (1961)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Dirk Bogarde
    Dirk Bogarde
    • Anacleto Comachi
    John Mills
    John Mills
    • Father Michael Keogh
    Mylène Demongeot
    Mylène Demongeot
    • Locha de Cortinez
    Laurence Naismith
    Laurence Naismith
    • Old Uncle
    John Bentley
    John Bentley
    • Police Captain
    Leslie French
    • Father Gomez
    Eric Pohlmann
    Eric Pohlmann
    • Presidente
    Norman Florence
    Norman Florence
    • Vito
    • (as Nyall Florenz)
    Roger Delgado
    Roger Delgado
    • Pedro de Cortinez
    Philip Gilbert
    Philip Gilbert
    • Phil Brown
    Selma Vaz Dias
    • Chela
    Laurence Payne
    Laurence Payne
    • Pablo
    Jacqueline Evans
    • Dona Marian
    Lee Montague
    Lee Montague
    • Pepe
    Serafina Di Leo
    • Jasefa
    Marie Devereux
    • Mexican Barmaid
    Cyril Shaps
    Cyril Shaps
    Arthur Brough
    Arthur Brough
    • Burning haystacks Farmer
    • (uncredited)
      • Roy Ward Baker
      • Audrey Erskine-Lindop(novel)
      • Nigel Balchin(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      Sir John Mills has stated in interviews that Sir Dirk Bogarde was one of the very few actors with whom he disliked working.

    User reviews27

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    THE SINGER NOT THE SONG (Roy Ward Baker, 1961) ***
    My first (and for a long time) only viewing of this film was way back in the mid-1980s (during the early days of VHS in my neck of the woods) via a tape of a local TV screening my father loaned from a friend of his; even though I was aware of a couple of Italian TV showings over the years, I never managed to catch up with it – until another friend of my father’s alerted me (around Good Friday of last year) that it had been released – and, as it happens, subsequently deleted – on R2 DVD in the UK…which is how I eventually reacquainted myself with it on the day marking the centenary of one of its lead actors, John Mills. The reason I went into such detail about my previous experience with this particular film is because, even though it’s been 23 years since my sole viewing of (what is nowadays perhaps considered) a fairly obscure title, I myself have never forgotten it.

    The ‘rejected priest in a godless Mexico’ theme recalls John Ford’s THE FUGITIVE (1947) and Luis Bunuel’s NAZARIN (1959), while the ‘homosexual undertones in a Western setting’ angle is reminiscent of the Howard Hughes/Howard Hawks concoction THE OUTLAW (1943) – with henchman Laurence Naismith’s ambiguous father-son-lover relationship with bandit leader Dirk Bogarde being particularly a throwback to the Thomas Mitchell/Jack Beutel one in the earlier film. Incidentally, THE SINGER NOT THE SONG’s controversial ending plays almost like a male version of that featured in yet another steamy over-the-top Western – DUEL IN THE SUN (1946)! This was the fourth of six collaborations between Mills and director Baker and which also included the latter’s debut, THE October MAN (1947) – a well-regarded thriller I’d love to watch and which, incidentally, has just been released on R2 DVD as part of a “John Mills Centenary Collection”. Bogarde, who himself considered the whole thing “beyond camp”, is almost always completely black-clad and, at one point, even sports cool shades!; here, he was already beginning to bravely delve on screen into his real-life gay side – which would come to full fruition later that same year in Basil Dearden’s VICTIM and other later acclaimed international films.

    Nigel Balchin’s complex screenplay is at once fascinating and heavy-going, occasioning a few lulls particularly during the last third of the film’s lengthy 132-minute duration; besides, the ‘alphabet murders’ element to Bogarde’s tyrannical rule – not to mention pretty, pouting Mylene Demongeot’s forbidden love for middle-aged priest Mills – isn’t very convincing. On the other hand, Otto Heller’s spectacular color cinematography and Philip Green’s playfully evocative score, stand out as undeniable assets to the film. Having said that, DD Video’s full-frame presentation would have usually put me off acquiring a title on DVD – but, for the reasons delineated in my introduction, I gladly made an exception in this case.

    Roy Ward Baker’s accompanying brief interview is very interesting: he wasn’t keen on doing the film himself but concedes now that it is beautifully-made; he also discloses that, initially, it was supposed to star Richard Burton instead of John Mills (but he was only interested in playing the bandit…except that the role was always intended for Bogarde – this, in fact, turned out to be the last film the latter made under contract to Rank) and that there was a mysterious enmity between the two male stars. I usually enjoy listening to Ward Baker’s Audio Commentaries (on his Hammer flicks) and, while I would have liked one for THE SINGER NOT THE SONG as well, the fact that he is now in his nineties and that he does not have fond memories of the shooting of the picture has understandably put paid to that prospect!
    helpful•11
    3
    • Bunuel1976
    • Feb 27, 2008

    Details

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    • Release date
      • May 2, 1962 (United States)
      • United Kingdom
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Torremolinos, Málaga, Andalucía, Spain
    • Production company
      • The Rank Organisation
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 2 hours 12 minutes
      • Mono

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